Oh yez?
This afternoon Cheryl Gillan will address the Assembly for the first time as Secretary of State for Wales.
The purpose of her visit?
To update AMs on the content of the Queen's Speech.
The Welsh Secretary's intention?
To continue to stress the "respect" that will, she insists, be at the heart of dealings she has with the government of Wales.
The Labour party's intention?
To paint her as the visiting Governor General, deigning to leave her English constituency for the day to drop in on her people. Someone had better whisper in the town crier's ear and tell him that Chesham and Amersham is rather a long way from Cheshire. It's in Buckinghamshire ...
Mrs Gillan seems pretty relaxed. She can't be looking forward to her session in the chamber. She has, after all, a bit of a reputation for not dealing with the slightest curve ball particularly well. But to me, she almost feels like a woman who has one or two things up her sleeve, one or two things that make her think it's more than possible the government in Cardiff will probably - mostly - join in the anthem called "reciprocal respect".
So far she's announced she's pressing ahead with the referendum and that it'll be held next March - just as the idea of putting it off until next Autumn was growing in currency in and around the Assembly. I doubt she'll be much longer before she's come up with the wording of the question that will be asked of us all. She's made practical and far more supportive sounding noises around the bid to devolve powers over housing than many of her detractors had expected.
Sounding positive is one thing, WAG might say. Actually giving us the powers that we've identified and voted for in the chamber quite another - and they would, of course, be bang on. But there's no doubt the language adopted by Cheryl Gillan, so far, has been that of getting on with the job, of governing with practicality, with delivery in mind, rather than ideology and confrontation. She sounds like a woman who's perfectly well aware that she needs to establish her devolution bona fides early on but the flip side of that is that she doesn't come freighted with a deep-seated ideological position on either policy or the difficult compromises that brought the Government of Wales Act 2006 into being.
She seems to mean what she says about respect by the way but it can't have escaped the attention of some of those around her that by taking a soothing line, she may also wrong-foot some of those who detest her government most.
She managed to avoid the Labour Party's colourful and very loud welcoming party. Nick Bourne and his adviser were less lucky. They walked past with a broad smile and just the slightest shake of the head at what a spokesman later called Labour's "childish fancy dress show".
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~35~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
That's the Town Crier?
I thought it was Don Touhig!
Complain about this comment
Pull the other one - it's got bells on it!
Complain about this comment
More like Michael Meacher...
Complain about this comment
I wonder what English Labour politicians, think of the braying anti-English sentiment displayed towards Cheryl Gillan, by Plaid Llafur Cymru?
I wonder what English Labour, thinks of obsessively aggressively Welsh Labour politicians, who've often called English folk the old enemy?
Or a first minister, who caused amused glee in the British media, by wanting to make the English sick with jealousy?
What do English Labour think of Rhodri Morgan, renaming Labour within Wales, into Explicitly Welsh Patriotic Party!!
I wonder what the Welsh, Scots Irish or others would make, if Labour in England, suddenly metamorphosed into Explicitly English Patriotic Party!! They wouldn't like it, would they?
Complain about this comment
With regards of the town crier, it’s no sillier than adults prancing about dressed up as Druids or Morris dancers. It all adds a traditional flavour to the eccentricity of British culture.
Complain about this comment
Re 4
Jac,
May I congratulate you on what must be the most bizarre blog entry in the history of blogging?! In an extraordinary clean sweep, however, you have probably earned second and third spots as well, for your efforts...
Complain about this comment
4. Well said Jack. The welsh Labour Party must be absolutely desperate if it has to pull "stunts" like this,well what do you expect its in bed with the "splitters" who want us to leave the UK and become INDEPENENT. Just listened to Jeff Jones on radio and was he impressive,and honest in that Mrs. Thatcher did not cut public expenditure in 1981. Why is Jeff Jones not leader of welsh labour as he's head and shoulders above Prince Carwyn,but off course the welsh uber "lovies" would never have hime because he's a)educated english only speaker from the valleys.b)does'nt like PC who are arch splitters.
Complain about this comment
re. M6.
Are these boards for adults only, or are some contributors still in short trousers??
Complain about this comment
Re: 8
Short trousers? I think you're more likely to find them in straitjackets..
Complain about this comment
Wouldn't Wales have been a much more pleasant place if we had never heard the words "referendum" "devolution" "assembly" or "Ieuanair" This blog wouldn't exist, and vast numbers of overpaid 'loungers about' in BBC Wales would be looking at phantom job-notices down their local Jobcentre.....(Is there one in Llandaff)
It would also be far more acceptable if those 60 useless,high-maintenance a.m. sheep, were not to be seen strutting around Cardiff like some "lookatme, lookatme" D-list celebrities.
Anyone asked yet just how much the hiring of a non too impressive Town Crier (who looks more like a moonlighting, back-office, local authority clock-watcher) cost...us?
Anyone who votes yes to give those incompetent assembly poltroons more power must either be crazy or have their own snouts in the trough.
There, I feel better now. (smile emoticon) !!
Complain about this comment
Re: 10
Nurse!!
Complain about this comment
Well I am neither crazy or in receipt of state money, so where does that leave me Noah?
Complain about this comment
Noah - Brilliant rant - we want more!!!
However makes you wonder who should be in straitjackets.
Surprising just how gullible some people are.
"O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not." Jeremiah 5:21 (King James version)
Complain about this comment
Re 13
Has it come to this? Encouraging rants not debate?
Complain about this comment
Oh West-Wales, You'll have it you are not supposed to do religion on here you know.
Or that's what you lot told me any way.
Complain about this comment
Well said West-Wales, for endorsing the sheer brilliance and British wit of Noah-sembly. Being British, is a no no, for the made in Heaven coalition of Llafur and Plaid.
Complain about this comment
1, 2 and 3 showed the potential for a rather entertaining string.
Complain about this comment
I received my copy of ...
Labour’s Legacy
The Last Will and Testament of Labour 1997 – 2010
To my successors, I leave no money, only waste, debt and the deepest cuts of modern times.
To the young people of Britain, I leave one in five of you without work.
To pensioners, I bequeath you lower pensions. I reduced the value of pension funds by billions. I leave you working longer for less.
In 13 years, I have wasted the inheritance left to me.
Of the gold bullion my predecessors bequeathed me, I sold over 350 tonnes at the worst possible price.
I have spent and spent and spent again - and every man, woman and child will have £22,400 to pay for my profligacy.
I have taken your hard-earned money and wasted it. I lost £3 billion in benefit overpayments and paid the dead £10 million in tax credits.
I leave Britain a bigger deficit than France, Germany and Japan, greater than Greece, Italy and Portugal.
I leave 2.47 million of you without a job.
With more time I could have done more.
I leave no apology, no regret, no comfort, and not an ounce of contrition.
I leave you years of painful and difficult decisions.
This is my legacy to you.
I am sure Betsan's readers and contributors will join me sending our heartfelt thanks for news - thanks Gordon, and our First Minister and coalition chums were part of this legacy.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS